Afrv. 


'^^^^ 


24th  Congress,  r    g-r    | 

2d  Session.  '■  ' 


\ 


MEMOMIAIL 

OF  THE 

GALENA  AND  CHICAGO  UNION  RAILROAD  COMPANY 

5 

Asking  a  Right  of  Way  through  the  Public  Lands. 


January  3,  1837. — Referrecl  to  the  r'ommiltee  on  Roads  and  'Canals. 
Januauy  20,  1837.  —  Ordered  to  be  printed. 


To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 

States  assembled  : 

The  memorial  of  the  President,  Directors,  and   Stockholders  of  the  Ga- 
lena and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company 

RESPECTFULLY  REPRESENTS : 

That,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  pa-.sed  on 
the  16th  day  of  January,  1836,  a  company  was  incorporated  for  the  term 
of  sixty  years  from  the  passage  of  the  act,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing 
a  railroad  from  the  town  of  Galena,  on  Fever  river,  six  miles  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  to  the  town  of  Chicago,  on  Lake  Michigan,  in  the  said  State 
of  Illinois,  as  will  appear  from  the  charter  of  said  company,  and  to  which 
your  memorialists  more  particularly  refer  for  the  character  of  said  act. 
Your  memorialists  further  represent  that,  in  pursuance  of  the  powers 
contained  in  said  act  of  incorporation,  a  full  million  of  dollars  of  the 
stock  of  said   company  has   been   subscribed,   and  the  first   instalment 
thereon  paid  ;  that  an  experienced  engineer  is  now  actually  engaged  in 
making  the  survey  of  the  line  of  the  said  road,  and  preparing  the  esti- 
mates of  the  cost  of  constructing  the  same,  preparatory  to  the  commervce- 
ment  of  the  work,  which  it  is  bona  fide  the  intention  of  your  memorial- 
ists to  commence,  without  delay,  so  soon  as  the  said  survey  and  estimates 
shall  have  been  completed.     The  probable  iengtli  of  the  whole  line  of 
the  road  will  be  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  will  pass  through 
a  large  portion  of  the  unsurveyed  public  lands  of  the  United  States  which 
lie  on  the  line  of  route.     It  will  therefore  be  obvious  to  your  honorable 
body,  that,  to  enable  your  memorialists  to  construct  a  large  portion  of 
this  work,  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  the  corporation  should  obtain 
a  permanent  right  of  way  over  so  much  of  the  land  along  the  line  as  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  ov.ns.     It  is  also  of  more  importance 
to  the  success  of  this  enterprise,  that,  in  addition  to  the  right  of  way,  the 
company  should  obtain  a  pre-emption  right  of  purchase  of  one  section  of 
the  public  lands  on  each  side  of  the  line  of  the  route,  for  tiie  purpose  of 
aiding  them  in  effectuating  the  completion  of  tlie  work. 
[Gales  &  Seaton,  print.] 


f  87  ]  2 

Your  memorialists  further  represent  that,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
this  right  of  way,  and  obtaining  the  ownership  of  the  land,  the  corporation 
are  disposed  to  offer  to  the  Government,  what  must  be  admitted  to  be 
not  only  a  fair  but  an  exceedingly  liberal  equivalent.  They  propose  that, 
hy  an  act  of  your  honorable  body,  the  right  of  way  necessary  to  the 
-construction  of  the  proposed  railroad,  and  for  depots^  and  the  erection  of 
toll-houses,  and  other  appendages  thereto,  not  exceeding  three  hundred 
yards  in  width  along  the  line  of  the  route  where  the  same  shall  pass  over 
the  public  land  of  the  United  States,  be  ceded  to  the  president  and  di- 
rectors of  the  said  company,  and  to  their  successors  forever,  in  fee  sim- 
ple;  and  that  they  be  further  permitted,  within  twelve  months  after  the 
passage  of  the  act,  to  purchase  the  public  lands  by  pre-emption  right  or  pre- 
vious right  of  purchase,  one  mile  or  section  in  depth  from  the  said  way,  on 
each  side  of  the  line  of  the  route,  which  shall  be  reserved  from  sale  for  such 
purpose,  at  the  minimum  price  of  the  public  lands,  on  a  credit  of  ten  years. 
For  which  privilege,  the  corporation  propose  to  carry  the  public  mails 
daily.)  if  required,  or  at  such  other  times  as  the  Post  Office  Department 
may  require,  not  being  oftener  than  the  time  stated,  on  the  said  road,  as 
fast  as  sections  of  five  miles  or  more  of  the  road  shall  have  been  com- 
pleted, during  the  whole  period  of  time  for  which  the  charter  has  been 
;granted. 

To  duly  estimate  the  important  nature  of  this  proposition,  and  to  fairly 
appreciate  the  liberality  of  its  character,  your  memorialists  will  not  more 
than  advert  to  the  probable  amount  of  yearly  compensation  which  would 
l>e  dejnanded  upon  a  similar  length  of  line  of  railroad  for  the  daily  trans- 
portation of  the  mail.  The  amount  would,  in  the  opinion  of  your  memo- 
rialists, be  more  than  forty  times  the  whole  value  of  the  lands  sought  to 
be  purchased  of  the  Government,  and  the  right  of  way  of  the  strip  re- 
quired for  the  construction  of  the  road  could  not  bear  the  slightest  com- 
pasison  with  the  value  of  the  services  offered  to  be  performed.  The  pre- 
emption right  of  purchase  on  a  credit,  and  the  strip  of  land  asked  to  be 
*j;iven,  is  then  all  that  your  memorialists  seek  in  return  for  the  offered 
service  of  the  daily  transportation  of  the  mail  by  railroad  cars,  a  distance 
of  three  hundred  miles,  for  sixty  years,  which  will  be  found,  on  a  calcu- 
lation, supposing  the  service  to  be  worth  only  one  dollar  per  mile  or  three 
jftundred  dollars  per  day  for  the  distance  of  300  miles  daily  transport,  cal- 
culating the  route  both  ways,  to  amount  in  60  years  to  the  sum  of  six  mil- 
lions five  hundi-ed  and  fifty-two  thousand  dollars. 

The  advantages  which  would  accrue  to  the  Government  from  the  ac- 
ceptance of  this  offer,  is  thus  demonstrable   by  actual   calculation,  even 
supposing  that  the  data  upon  which  it  is  based  should  be  too  great  by  one 
Aalf.     It  is  scarcely  deemed  necessary  to  remark  that  the  celerity  of  this 
•species  of  transportation   must  eventually  produce  a  compulsory  action 
towards  its  adoption  for  all  mail  facilities  between  distant  and  important 
points  of  our  extended  confederacy,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
^^jisblic  interests,  when  considered  with  reference  to  a  state  of  peace,  but 
/more  especially  that  of  war,  will  demand  it;  nor  can  it  be  supposed  that 
Ike  ordinary  means  of  mail  transportation  will  satisfy  the  reasonable  ex- 
pectations of  the  community,  whose  rapidly-increasing  communications 
will  justly  require  the  same  increased  speed  in  their  transmission  as  may 
li-e  enjoyed  and  obtained  by  private  conveyance.     The  objects  to  be  ob- 


3  \  ^   I 

tained  by  the  establishment  of  the  Post  Office  Department  of  this  GoveiTi- 
ment  would  otherwise  be  lost,  and  the  principles  of  its  erection  destroyed 
and  superseded  by  individual  enterprise.  Of  what  benefit  will  the  public 
mails  be  if  private  conveyances  in  point  of  speed  and  at  little  or  no  ex- 
pense, are  to  be  rendered  so  much  more  desirable  because  of  their  cele- 
rity ?  Believing  that  these  considerations  need  only  to  be  stated  to  be 
rendered  obvious,  your  memorialists  will,  in  conclusion,  merely  refer  to 
the  importance  of  the  proposed  connexion  of  Galena  with  Chicago. 

The  inexhaustible  mineral  resources  of  the  region  in,which  Galena  is 
situated,  and  the  facilities  which  the  proposed  communication  would  of- 
fer for  the  transport  of  the  vast  quantities  of  lead  and  other  ores  whick 
are  smelted  there,  to  the  Atlantic  and  Eastern  States  are  unappreciable. 
The  reduction  of  expense  of  transportation  on  this  route  over  the  one 
now  in  use  on  the  Mississippi  by  New  Orleans,  would  enable  the  hold- 
ers of  these  ores  to  deliver  them  on  the  Atlantic  board  at  a  reduction  of 
one-half  of  its  present  cost.  An  immense  tonnage  of  shipping  leaves 
the  port  of  Chicago  in  sand  ballast  every  year,  for  the  want  of  freight. 
Lead  would  be  gladly  received  and  transported  to  Buffalo  free  of  charges 
by  these  vessels.  Hence  it  is  obvious  that  the  price  of  lead  would  be 
lessened  by  this  cause.  Other  considerations  w'ith  reference  to  the 
eventual  transport  and  shipment  of  the  productions  of  Illinois  might  be 
stated  and  enlarged  upon;  but,  as  it  is  the  purpose  of  your  memorialists  to 
state  propositions  rather  than  to  offer  arguments  to  enforce  the  justice  of 
their  character,  they  foibear  to  enter  into  a  field  which,  if  diligently 
reaped,  would  afford  a  harvest  of  the  most  cogent  reasons  in  support  of 
the  reasonable  character  of  the  grant  they  seek,  and  of  the  highly  valu- 
able nature  of  the  service  they  propose  in  return  for  the  concession  asked^, 
vastly  beneficial  alike  to  the  Government  and  the  community. 

OJice  of  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  ) 
Railroad  Company^  November  30, 1836.  ) 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  company,  it  was 
Resolved^  That  the  aforegoing  memorial  be  adopted  and  presented  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the   same   be  authenticate<5 
under  the  hand  of  the  president  and  the  seal  of  the  company. 

[seal]  THEO.  W.  smith,  PresidenL 


An  act  to  incorporate  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Com- 
pany. 

Theo's  W.  Smith,  President;  Edmund  D.  Taylor,  Josiah  C.  Goodhue,. 
John  T.  Temple,  George  Smith,  Ebenezer  Peck,  James  H.  Collins,  Di- 
rectors. 

Sec.  1 .  Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois^  represent- 
ed in  the  General  Assembly,  That  all  such  persons  as  shall  become  stock- 
holders agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  in  the  corporation  hereby 
created,  shall  be,  and  for  the  term  of  sixty  years  from  and  after  the  pas*- 


[   §7   ]  4 

sage. of  this  act,  shall  continue  to  be  a  body  corporate  and  politic,  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company,"  and 
by  that  name  shall  have  succession  for  the  term  of  years  above  specified, 
may  sue  and  be  sued,  complain  and  defend,  in  any  court  of  law  or  equity; 
may  make  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  alter  the  same  at  pleasure  ;  may 
make  by-laws,  rules,  and  regulations  for  the  management  of  its  proper- 
ty, the  regulation  of  its  affairs,  and  for  the  transfer  of  its  stock,  not  in- 
consistent with  the  existing  laws  and  the  constitution  of  this  State  and 
of  the  United  States  ;  and  may  moreover  appoint  such  subordinate  agents, 
ofiBcers,  and  servants,  as  the  business  of  the  said  corporation  may  require, 
and  allow  to  them  a  suitable  compensation,  prescribe  their  duties,  and 
require  bond  for  the  faithful  performance  thereof,  in  such  penal  sums, 
and  with  such  sureties  as  they  may  choose,  who  shall  hold  their  offices 
during  the  pleasure  of  a  majority  of  the  directors  of  the  said  corpora- 
tion. 

Sec.  2.  The  said  corporation  shall  have  the  right  to  construct,  and  du- 
ring its  continuance,  to  maintain  and  continue  a  railroad  with  a  single  or 
double  track,  and  with  such  appendages  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  for 
the  convenient  use  of  the  same,  from  the  town  of  Galena,  in  the  county 
of  Joe  Daviess,  to  such  point  at  the  town  of  Chicago  as  shall  be  deter- 
mined after  a  survey  shall  have  been  made  of  the  route,  to  be  the  most 
eligible,  proper,  direct,  and  convenient  therefor. 

Sec.  3.  The  capital  stock  of  the  said  corporation  shall  be  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  which  shall  be  deemed  personal  property^  and  shall  be 
divided  into  shares  of  one  hundred  dollars  each.  The  capital  stock  of 
said  corporation  may,  at  any  time  hereafter,  be  increased  to  a  sum  not 
exceeding  one  million  of  dollars,  if  the  same  shall  be  judged  necessary 
to  the  completion  of  the  said  work;  and  the  same  shall  be  subscribed  for 
and  taken  under  the  direction  of  the  directors  of  the  said  corporation, 
wherever  they  shall  direct  one  or  more  boo«ks  to  be  opened  for  such  pur- 
pose, and  shall  be  subscribed  and  taken  in  such  manner  as  the  directors 
of  the  said  corporation  for  that  purpose  shall  order  and  appoint. 

Sec.  4.  That  William  Bennett,  Thomas  Drummond,  J.  C.  Goodhue, 
Peter  Semple,  J.  W.  Turner,  E.  D.  Taylor,  and  J.  B.  Thomas,  jr.,  shall 
be  commissioners  for  securing  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  of  said 
corporation,  who  shall  give  notice  within  twelve  months  after  the  passage 
of  this  act  of  the  time  and  place  where  books  will  be  opened  at  Galena 
and  Chicago,  and  such  other  places  as  they  may  deem  necessary,  in  some 
public  newspaper  printed  at  the  said  places,  at  least  thirty  days  previous 
to  the  opening  such  books,  for  the  receiving  subscriptions  to  the  capital 
stock  of  said  corporation.  The  majority  of  the  commissioners  shall  at- 
tend at  the  time  and  place  appointed  by  such  notice  for  the  opening  of 
said  books,  and  shall  continue  to  receive  such  subscriptions  to  the  capi- 
tal stock  of  said  corporation,  from  all  persons  who  will  subscribe  thereto, 
until  the  whole  amount  thereof  shall  have  been  subscribed,  when  the 
said  books  shall  be  closed.  Each  subscriber,  at  the  time  of  subscribing, 
shall  pay  to  the  commissioners  one  dollar  on  each  share  of  the  stock  sub- 
scribed for  by  him ;  and  the  said  commissioners  shall,  as  soon  as  the  di- 
rectors are  elected,  deliver  to  them  the  whole  amount  so  received. 

Sec.  5.  The  affairs  of  said  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  a  board  of 
seven  directors,  to  be  annually  chosen  by  the  stockholders  from  among 


5  I    87  J 

themselves,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the  stock  has  been  subscribed.  The 
commissioners  shall  give  notice  of  the  time  and  place  at  which  a  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  will  be  held  for  the  choice  of  directors  ;  and  at  such 
time  and  place  appointed  for  that  purpose,  the  commissioners,  or  a  ma- 
jority of  them,  shall  attend  and  act  as  inspectors  of  said  election  ;  and 
the  Stockholders  present  shall  proceed  to  elect  their  directors  by  ballot, 
and  the  commissioners  present  shall  certify  the  result  of  such  election, 
under  their  hands,  which  certificate  shall  be  recorded  in  the  books  of  the 
corporation,  and  shall  be  sufficient  evidence  of  the  election  of  the  di- 
rectors therein  named. 

All  future  elections  shall  be  held  at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  the  by-laws  and  regulations  of  the  said  corporation.  Each 
stockholder  shall  be  allowed  as  many  votes  as  he  owns  shares  at  the 
commencement  of  such  election,  and  a  plurality  of  votes  shall  determine 
the  choice  ;  but  no  stockholder  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  election 
after  the  first,  for  any  stock  which  shall  have  been  assigned  to  him  within 
thirty  days  previous  to  holding  such  election. 

The  said  directors  shall  hold  their  offices  for  one  year  after  their  elec- 
tion, and  shall  elect  one  of  their  number  as  president   of  the  said  board. 

Sec.  6.  The  said  corporation  is  authorized  to  construct,  make,  and  use, 
a  single  or  double  railroad,  or  way,  of  suitable  width  and  dimensions,  to 
be  determined  by  the  said  corporation,  on  the  line,  course,  or  way,  which 
may  be  designated  and  selected  by  the  directors  as  the  line,  course,  or 
"Way  whereon  to  construct  or  make  the  same  ;  and  shall  have  power  to 
regulate  the  time  and  manner  in  which  goods,  effects,  and  passengers 
shall  be  transported,  taken,  and  carried  on  the  same  ;  and  to  prescribe 
the  manner  in  which  the  said  railroad  shall  be  used  ;  by  what  force  the 
carriages  to  be  used  thereon  may  be  propelled  ;  and  the  rate  of  toll  for  the 
transportation  of  persons  or  property  thereon  ;  and  shall  have  power  to 
erect  and  maintain  houses,  toll-gates,  and  other  buildings,  for  the  accom- 
modation and  management  of  the  said  road,  and  transport  thereon  as  may 
be  deemed  suitable  to  their  interest.  And  they  may  also  construct, 
maintain,  and  use  such  other  lateral  routes  as  may  be  deemed  advanta- 
geous and  expedient,  and  necessary,  under  the  same  rights  and  privi- 
leges as  by  this  act  is  provided  for  the  constructing  of  the  main  route. 
And  it  shall  be  lawful,  also,  for  the  said  corpoiation  to  unite  with  any 
other  railroad  company  already  incorporated,  or  which  may  be  incorpo- 
rated upon  any  part  of  the  route  of  said  road,  upon  such  terms  as  may 
be  agreed  upon  by  the  directors  of  said  companies  ;  and  also  to  construct 
such  other  and  lateral  loutes  as  may  be  necessary  to  connect  them  with 
any  other  route  or  routes  which  may  be  deemed  expedient. 

Sec.  7.  If,  at  any  time  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  deemed 
advisable  by  the  directors  of  the  said  corporation  to  make  and  construct  a 
good  and  permanent  turnpike  road  upon  any  portion  of  the  route  of  the 
railroad  by  this  act  authorized  to  be  constructed,  then  the  said  directors 
are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  construct  a  turnpikC;  on  any 
portion  of  the  said  route,  of  the  following  dimensions:  not  less  than  one 
hundred  feet  wide,  twenty-two  feet  of  which  shall  be  based  with  stone 
or  gravel  or  other  hard  substance,  well  compacted  together,  and  of  suffi- 
cient depth  to  secure  a  good  foundation  where  necessary,  the  whole  of 
which  shall  be  faced  with  gravel  or  stone  of  a  depth  not  less  than  six 


[  87  ]  6 

inches,  in  such  manner  as  to  secure  a  firm  and  even  surface,  rising  in 
the  middle  by  a  gradual  arch  ;  and  where  other  roads  may  intersect,  it 
shall  be  so  constructed  that  carriages  may  conveniently  pass  over  the 
turnpike  road.  And  the  said  corporation  is  hereby  authorized  to  erect 
at  both  ends  of  said  road,  and  at  such  other  points  upon  the  line  thereof, 
as  many  gates  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  thereon. 

Sec.  8.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  said  corporation  to  appoint  toll-gatherers 
to  collect  and  receive  of  and  from  all  persons  using  said  road,  the  fol- 
lowing rates  of  toll,  to  wit :  For  each  and  every  mile  of  transport  or 
travel  upon  the  said  turnpike  road,  for  a  man  and  horse,  two  cents  ;  or  for 
a  single  person,  one  cent ;  for  four  or  six  horses  or  ox  wagon  and  driver, 
loaded,  three  cents,  and  for  the  same  when  empty,  two  cents ;  for  all 
four-horse  carriages  and  driver,  five  cents ;  for  a  two-horse  wagon  or 
one  yoke  of  oxen  and  wagon,  three  cents ;  for  two-horse  pleasure  car- 
riages, four  cents;  for  a  one-horse  carriage  or  gig,  two  cents;  for  horses, 
mules,  or  cattle  in  droves,  half  a  cent  per  head  ;  for  hogs,  goats,  and 
sheep,  one  mill  per  head  ;  when  sleds  are  used  instead  of  wheels,  one- 
half  of  the  above-specified  toll.  And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  toll- 
gatherer  to  stop  and  detain  any  person  from  going  on  said  road  until 
he  shall  pay  to  him  the  toll  properly  chargeable  to  him,  and  when 
any  person  shall  pay  to  the  toll-gatherer  the  toll  chargeable  to  him, 
the  toll-gatherer  shall  give  to  him  a  ticket  authorizing  him  to  pass  the 
whole  distance  of  the  road  for  which  he  has  paid.  And  the  president 
and  directors  shall  cause  to  be  kept  upon  each  gate,  in  some  conspicu- 
ous place  where  it  may  be  easily  read,  a  printed  list  of  the  tolls  which 
may  be  lawfully  demanded.  Said  corporation  shall  cause  to  be  erected 
mile-posts  or  stones  to  be  maintained,  and  also  erect  guide-posts  at  the 
intersection  of  all  highways  leading  into  or  from  such  turnpike  road,  on 
which  shall  be  inscribed  the  name  of  the  town  or  public  place  to  which 
it  leads  ;  and  if  any  person  shall  wilfully  cut  down  such  posts,  or  shall 
wilfully  break  or  throw  down  any  of  the  said  gates  or  turnpike,  or  shall 
dig  or  spoil  any  of  the  said  road,  or  any  thing  thereunto  belonging,  or  shall 
forcibly  pass  either  of  the  gates  without  first  having  paid  the  legal  tolls, 
such  person  shall  pay  and  forfeit  for  every  such  offence  and  injury,  the 
sum  of  twenty-five  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  the  said  corporation 
in  an  action  of  debt  before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county 
where  the  offender  or  offenders  may  be  found  ;  and  if  any  person  shall 
turn  out  of  the  said  road  and  pass  any  of  the  gates,  and  again  enter  upon 
such  road  to  avoid  the  payment  of  toll,  he  shall  forfeit  to  the  corporation 
the  sum  of  five  dollars,  to  be  recovered  in  like  manner. 

Sec.  9.  If  any  toll-gatherer  shall  unreasonable  delay  or  hinder  any 
traveller  or  passenger,  or  shall  demand  more  toll  than  by  this  act  is  al- 
lowed, he  shall  forfeit  and  pay  to  the  person  injured  the  sum  of  five  dol- 
lars, in  the  manner  provided  in  the  preceding  section  ;  and  if  he  shall 
be  unable  to  pay  it,  the  corporation  shall  be  held  responsible  therefor. 

Sec.  10.  As  soon  as  five  miles  of  the  turnpike  road  shall  be  com- 
pleted, said  corporation  may  erect  gates  thereon  and  collect  the  toll  al- 
lowed by  this  act.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  corporation,  when 
said  road  shall  have  been  completed,  to  keep  it  in  good  repair ;  and 
whenever,  from  any  cause  whatever,  the  same  shall  become  injuied,  said 
corporation  shall  immediately  proceed  to  repair  the  same.     And  it  shall 


7  [  87   1 

he  lawful  for  the  said  corporation  to  commence  the  construction  of  the 
said  railroad,  or  way,  or  turnpike,  at  such  points  on  any  part  of  the  afore- 
said route  or  routes  hereinbefore  described,  as  in  its  judo-ment  may  ap- 
pear expedient  and  proper.  Said  corporation  are  authorized  to  borrow 
any  sum  of  money  which  may,  in  their  discretion,  be  deemed  necessary 
not  exceeding  its  capital  stock,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  said 
roads  ;  and  if  it  shall  at  any  time  appear  to  the  said  corporation  that  an\^ 
part  thereof,  or  any  surplus  funds,  is  not  necessary  to  be  retained  the 
same  may  be  loaned  on  such  terms  as  the  directors  of  the  said  corpora- 
tion may  deem  proper  ;  not,  however,  at  a  higher  rate  of  interest  than 
that  now  allowed  by  the  laws  of  this  State. 

Sec.  11.  In  case  the  corporation  shall  not  be  able  to  acquire  the  title 
to  the  lands  through  which  the  said  road  shall  be  laid,  by  purchase  or 
voluntary  cession,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  corporation  to  appropri- 
ate so  much  of  said  lands  as  may  be  necessary  for  its  own  use,  for  the 
purposes  contemplated  by  this  act,  on  complying  with  the  provisions  of 
the  six  following  sections  : 

Sec.  12.  The  directors  may  present  a  petition  to  the  judge  of  the 
circuit  court  of  the  county  in  which  the  said  land  may  be  situate,  settino- 
forth,  by  some  proper  description,  the  lands  which  are  wanted  for  the 
construction  of  said  railroad  or  turnpike,  or  the  appendages  thereto ; 
and  the  names  of  the  owners  thereof,  if  known,  distinguishing,  with  con- 
venient certainty,  if  it  can  be  done,  the  parcels  claimed  in  severalty  by 
the  respective  owners,  and  praying  or  the  appointment  of  appraisers  to 
assess  the  damages  which  the  owners  of  said  land  will  severally  sustain 
by  reason  of  the  appropriation  thereof,  by  the  said  corporation,  to  its  own 
use. 

Sec.  13.  On  the  presentment  of  such  petition,  said  circuit  judge  shall 
appoint  a  day  for  the  hearing  of  the  parties  in  interest,  and  shall  direct 
such  notice  as  he  shall  deem  resonable  to  be  given  of  the  time  and  place 
of  hearing  ;  and  in  case  it  shall  appear  that  any  of  the  owners  of  said 
lands  is  a  femme  covert^  an  infant,  or  insane,  or  otherwise  incompetent 
to  take  proper  care  of  his  or  her  interest,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said 
Judge  to  appoint  some  discreet  and  reputable  person  to  act  in  the  prem- 
ises in  his  or  her  behalf. 

Sec.  14.  At  the  time  appointed  for  such  hearing,  the  said  judge  shall 
appoint  thiee  disinterested  persons,  freeholders,  residents  of  the  county 
in  which  said  lands  may  lie,  for  the  purpose  of  assessing  such  damages, 
and  in  the  order  in  which  they  were  appointed,  shall  direct  and  specify 
what  lands  are  proposed  to  be  appropriated  and  occupied  by  the  said  cor- 
poration, for  the  purposes  aforesaid. 

Sec.  15.  Said  appraisers,  after  being  duly  sworn  before  some  officer 
properly  authorized  to  administer  oaths,  honestly  and  impartially  to  assess 
such  damages,  shall  proceed  by  viewing  said  lands,  and  by  such  other 
evidence  as  the  parties  may  produce  before  them,  to  ascertain  and  assess 
the  damages  which  each  individual  owner  will  sustain  by  the  appropria- 
tion of  his  lands  for  the  use  or  accommodation  of  such  railroad  or  turn- 
pike, or  their  appendages. 

Sec.  16.  The  said  appraisers  shall  make  a  rej  ort  to  the  said  judge,  in 
waiting,  under  their  hands,  reciting  the  order  for  their  appointment,  and 
specifying  the  several  parcels  described  therein,  with  all  necessary  eer- 


[  87  ]  8        . 

tainty  ;  the  names  of  the  owners  of  the  respective  parcels,  if  known,  and 
if  not  known,  stating  that  fact ;  and  specifying,  also,  the  damages  which 
the  owners  of  the  said  respective  parcels  will  sustain  by  reason  of  the  ap- 
propriation of  the  same  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  :  and  in  case  either  of 
the  parties  is  dissatisfied  with  the  assessment,  the  said  judge  may,  on  the 
hearing  of  the  parties  and  interest,  modify  the  assessment  as  to  him  shall 
appear  just. 

Sec.  17.  On  the  payment  of  the  damages  thus  assessed,  together  with 
the  expenses  of  assessment,  as  the  same  shall  be  settled  by  said  judge, 
or  on  depositing  the  amount  thereof  for  the  use  of  such  owners  in  such 
bank  or  moneyed  incorporation  as  the  said  judge  shall  direct,  the  said 
corporation  shall  immediately  become  entitled  to  the  use  of  said  lands  for 
the  purposes  aforesaid  ;  and  the  report  of  the  said  appraisers,  with  the 
order  of  said  judge,  modifying  the  same,  if  the  same  shall  have  been 
modified,  shall  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  the  county  in 
which  said  lands  shall  be  situate,  in  the  same  manner  and  in  the  like  effect 
as  deeds  are  recorded,  without  any  other  proof  than  the  certificate  of  the 
said  judge  that  the  report  is  genuine. 

Sec.  is.  And  when  the  said  order  shall  have  been  so  recorded  as 
aforesaid,  the  said  corporation  shall  be  seized  and  possessed  of  such  land 
or  real  estate,  and  may  enter  upon  and  take  possession,  and  use  the 
same,  for  the  purposes  hereinbefore  recited. 

Sec.  19.  Said  corporation  shall  be  bound  to  repair  all  public  highways, 
bridges,  and  water-courses,  which  may  be  injured  in  constructing  said 
railroad  or  its  appendages;  and  shall  restore  them,  as  far  as  practicable, 
to  as  good  a  condition  as  they  were  before  they  were  injured. 

Sec.  20.  The  said  corporation  shall  be  allowed  three  years  from  the 
passage  of  this  act  for  the  commencement  of  the  construction  of  the  said 
railroad  and  turnpike  ;  and  in  case  the  same  shall  not  be  completed  within 
(en  years  thereafter,  the  privileges  herein  granted  shall  be  forfeited. 

Sec.  21.  Any  person  who  shall  wilfully  injure  said  road,  or  any  of  the 
appendages  thereto,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall 
forfeit,  to  use  of  the  corporation,  a  sura  equal  to  three  times  the  amount  of 
damages  occasioned  by  such  injury,  to  be  recovered,  with  costs  of  suit, 
in  the  name  of  such  corporation,  in  an  action  of  debt,  before  any  court 
having  cognizance  thereof,  or  before  any  j.ustice  of  the  peace  in  the 
county  where  such  injury  or  offence  may  have  been  committed. 

Sec.  22.  This  act  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  as  a  public  act,  and  shall 
be  construed  beneficially  for  all  purposes  herein  specified  or  intended  ; 
and  all  copies  thereof,  printed  by  or  under  the  direction  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State,  shall  be  received  in  all  courts  and  places  what- 
soever in  said  State  as  sufficient  evidence  thereof,  without  further  proof. 

JAMES  TEMPLE, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
A.  M.  JENKINS, 

Speaker  of  the  Senate. 

Approved,  January  16,  1836. 

JOSEPH  DUNCAN. 


9  [  87  ] 

State  of  Illinois,  Department  of  State  : 

I,  Alexander  P.  Field,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  do 
certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  true  copy  of  the  enrolled  bill  on  file  in  this 
department. 

r         "I      I^  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  signed  my  name,  and 
'-    '  ^'-'  afl&xed  the  State  seal,  at  Vandalia,  the  29th  January,  1836. 

A.  P.  FIELD,  Secretary  of  State. 


Post  Office  Department, 

January  12,  1837. 

Sir  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  note  of  the  11  th  instant,  en- 
closing the  memorial  of  the  Galena  and  Chicago  Railroad  Company,  and 
asking  whether,  in  my  opinion,  the  public  service  will  be  promoted  by 
granting  the  prayer  of  the  memorialists. 

My  sense  of  the  importance  of  railroads  in  the  transportation  of  the 
mails  has  often  been  expressed,  and  it  is  by  no  means  diminished  by 
time  and  experience.  The  road  in  question,  when  completed,  will  be 
of  great  importance  as  a  mail  line,  and  its  free  use  in  that  respect  is  un- 
doubtedly worth  a  high  price.  The  transportation  of  the  mails  upon  it, 
when  that  region  becomes  populous,  cannot  be  expected  to  cost  less  than 
^12,000  per  annum,  at  a  moderate  rate  of  compensation  ;  and  probably 
long  before  the  termination  of  the  charter,  it  would  cost  double  that  sum. 
It  appears  to  me  that  services  so  valuable  and  so  important  would  be 
cheaply  puchased  by  a  grant  of  the  donation  and  pre-emption  asked  for, 
with  a  reversion  to  the  United  States,  or  some  other  equivalent  security, 
if  the  work  should  not  be  completed  within  a  reasonable  time. 

If,  however,  an  arrangement  bo  made,  it  should  be  stipulated  that  the 
company  shall  receive  and  deliver  the  mails  at  the  post  offices  near  the 
ends  of  the  road,  shall  supply  all  post  offices  which  shall  be  established 
upon  the  line,  and  shall  carry  the  mail  daily,  and  as  much  oftener  as 
they  may  at  any  time  run  trains  of  passenger  cars,  to  be  secured  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  required  by  the  Postmaster  General. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  only  further  to  remark  that,  in  my  opinion,  so 
far  as  the  United  States  and  their  interests  are  concerned,  no  more  use- 
ful disposition  can  be  made  of  the  public  lands  than  to  exchange  them  in 
moderate  and  reasonable  quantities  for  the  permanent  use  of  the  railroads 
in  transporting  the  mails,  the  troops,  the  munitions  of  war,  and  other 
public  property  of  the  United  States,  free  of  charge.  The  memorial  is 
herewith  returned. 

Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

AMOS  KENDALL. 

Hon.  Wm.  Hendricks,  Chairman 

Committee  on  Roads  and  Canals,  U.  S.  Senate. 


V. 


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